Telemedicine and HIPAA: What You Need To Know

Published 2:48 PM ET Thu, 19 Sept 2013
Globe Newswire

Cold Spring, NY, Sept. 19, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The September 23rd deadline for compliance with new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Omnibus Final Rule is just one week away. Announced in January, the changes bring more stringent regulations to patient privacy and the management of Protected Health Information (PHI). Compounding the issue, healthcare providers will also be responsible for ensuring the HIPAA compliant business practices of their partners, including those providing telemedicine and telepsychiatry connectivity.

The convenience, efficiency, and comfort of online medical consultations bridge the provider-patient gap. The benefits are clear, but how can a provider expand the reach of their practice, make appointments easier for patients, and maintain HIPAA compliant telemedicine? By choosing the right telemedicine partner, say the experts at CloudVisit Telemedicine.

"Telemedicine should make things easier, not more complicated," says Daniel Gilbert, president and CEO of CloudVisit Telemedicine. "CloudVisit gives providers a safe, easy, and legally-sound way to see patients online."

Best of all, CloudVisit has been HIPAA compliant from day one. So while HIPAA-compliant telemedicine is newly defined, secure video technology is not. CloudVisit Telemedicine built their telemedicine system from the ground up, with guaranteed HIPAA-compliance since its early 2013 launch.

During a typical telemedicine session patient and provider information is transmitted via video, voice, and text. Based on HIPAA's new definition of a business associate relationship, both the healthcare provider and the telemedicine company are directly responsible for the HIPAA-compliant transmission and storage of that data.

Healthcare providers aren't expected to become experts in firewalls, data encryption, or the complexities of network security, but they are responsible for choosing a telemedicine partner who is. CloudVisit was designed to be an information fortress of worry-free video appointment convenience.

"It's not enough to be HIPAA compliant within the walls of your physical office," says Gilbert. "Providers must be vigilant about every piece of patient data that's shared and stored online. We give clients the peace of mind that their business and their professional integrity will remain in tact. "

Is your telemedicine partner HIPAA compliant?

Telemedicine must be practiced via a HIPAA-compliant partner

HIPAA-compliant telemedicine must be backed by a Business Associates Agreement (BAA) between the healthcare provider and the telemedicine partner

The security practices and data encryption measures of the telemedicine partner must be contractually guaranteed in the BAA

CloudVisit Telemedicine offers a range of unlimited telemedicine plans designed to support any size private practice or healthcare institution. Learn more about HIPAA-compliant telemedicine and the affordable ease of CloudVisit technology at www.cloudvisittm.com, or by calling 888-503-3009.